"Art about Art: Collaboration and Expression of Self and
Other in Creating New Work for Theatre" (on the play, Adoration
of Dora) - Abstract

The creation of art is a singular expression, yet art resonates most intensely
when it is not merely unique, but also universal. Adoration of Dora
explores the singular world of Surrealist photographer Dora Maar as she tries to
find her own voice as an artist while living with the threat of war and in the
long shadow cast by her lover, Pablo Picasso. On a universal and
contemporary level, Adoration of Dora explores the nature of art
and creativity and the way in which artists and lovers inspire and abuse one
another in their quest for self-expression. MFA candidate and playwright
Lojo Simon, Director Robert Caisley and Art Historian Marco Deyasi lead a panel
discussion on how the universal and unique worlds of art, politics, sex and
history all collide in this World Premiere production being produced this fall
by the Department of Theatre.

Robert Caisley - Bio

Robert Caisley is Associate Professor of Theatre & Film, and Head of the
Dramatic Writing Program at the University of Idaho.He was named the 2011 Blaine Quarnstrom Visiting Playwright at the
University of Southern Mississippi.
He has worked in the entertainment industry as a Creative Consultant for The
History Channel, Triage Entertainment, and for North by Northwest Productions,
Netter Digital Entertainment and New Wave Entertainment.Robert has been a guest speaker at the American
Academy of Dramatic Arts, the University of the Arts, San Diego State
University, Marquette University, Washington State University, the University of
Maryland, the University of Montana, Northern Illinois University, Bowling Green
State University, Denison University, University of Nevada - Las Vegas, the
University of Wisconsin - Madison, Howard University, University of Nebraska -
Lincoln, Bradley University, Cal State - San Bernardino, Rockford College, and
American University in Washington, D.C. His
plays include Kissing, The Lake, Good Clean Fun, The 22-Day Adagio, ‘Front’, Letters
to an Alien, Kite’s Book, Push,
Winter, Santa Fe & Other Short Plays and new play
Happy that has been nominated by New Theatre for the National New
Play Network 2011 Showcase.He
recently directed the Los Angeles Premiere of
The Frybread Queen by Carolyn Dunn and
directed readings of The Birdhouse by
Diane Glancy at La Jolla Playhouse for the 2011 Native Voices Festival of New
Works.

Lauren "Lojo" Simon

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Bio

Lojo Simon
is a playwright, journalist, dramaturg and MFA candidate in dramatic writing at
University of Idaho. Her play,
Adoration of Dora, was part of Moxie Theatre’s Fighting Words
Festival in San Diego in 2010, and premieres at University of Idaho in September
2011. Other recent performances of her work include
Moscow, which placed first among
10-minute plays at the ACTF Region VII Festival in February 2011, and
Beyond Tucumcari, which was part of
UI’s One-Act Play Festival in May 2011. Mi Corazon, a
play for young audiences, was read at Missoula Colony in 2010, and an excerpt
will appear in the forthcoming anthology,
Scenes from a Diverse World, published by the International Centre for Women
Playwrights. Her writing also has been published in numerous magazines,
journals, newspapers and books. More at www.lojosimon.com.

Marco Deyasi - Bio

Marco Deyasi is the art historian at the University of Idaho. He is a graduate
of Duke University and has a held a number of awards for his research: a
Chateaubriand Fellowship, a SSHRC dissertation fellowship, and a Kress Travel
fellowship, among others. His research focuses on the reception of Vietnamese
and Cambodian art and culture in France, especially in relation to the interplay
between politicized modernism and colonial ideology. He is working on a book,
Modern Primitives and Primitive Moderns: French Visual Culture and "Indochina",
1863-1968.